Cherishing You (Thirsty Hearts Book 3)

by Kris Jayne

  “Well, something’s the matter.”

  “It’s Jonah. He and I had the worst fight. I can’t even get into it, but I think it’s over. He’s done with me. I’m staying the night in his guest house over the garage.” Straining to talk through her tightened throat pained her.

  “I’m coming over.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  Kim either didn’t hear her or ignored her because she hung up. A few minutes later, Kim called her back. “I was half way to your old place before I realized that’s not where you live. What’s his address?”

  “I don’t know if you should come over. It’s his house.”

  “Until you go elsewhere, it’s yours too. I’ll Google search and find it unless you tell me.”

  Shannon gave Kim the address and, twenty minutes later, heard a knock on the door.

  “You didn’t have to come over. I only needed to talk. We can do that over the phone.”

  “I can’t hug you over the phone.” Kim threw her arms around Shannon and pushed her way into the garage apartment.

  “Jesus, his empty guest place is bigger than the apartment I grew up in.” She held up a paper sack. “Normally, I would have brought tequila, but since you don’t drink, I stopped and got two pints of Ben and Jerry’s. One is chocolate brownie and the other is cookie dough. What’s your pleasure?”

  Shannon reached for the cookie dough and sat on the couch. “Thanks.”

  Kim walked around and flopped down beside Shannon. “What happened?”

  “It’s...I can’t...” A veil of tears fell on the world in front of her, and her breath came in fits.

  Kim held her, trailing fingers through her hair. After a few minutes, Shannon got control of her breathing and sat back.

  “I got snot on your sweater.” She jumped up get tissue from the bathroom, hurrying back in to wipe Kim’s top.

  “Don’t worry, honey. I got it. Can you tell me what happened?”

  “My ex. Kid. He’s dead. He got shot by this guy. A friend of his. A guy I met when I went back for my friend’s sister’s funeral.”

  “Oh, sweetie. I’m sorry. Is that what has you upset?”

  “No. Yes, but no. I mean. He’s dead. That’s…I don’t know. Sad for someone. That’s not really it. The guy who shot him. I…He slept with me back in October. I didn’t know. I don’t even remember. It’s so stupid. Not to remember.”

  Her pulse kicked up, pulling her chest tight. She felt strangled by what she had to say.

  “Calm down. Okay? It’s okay. You don’t have to get into if you don’t want to. I guess Jonah found out, and he threw you out here.”

  “Yes. He called me a scheming bitch. He thinks I’m trying to trap him with someone else’s baby.”

  Shannon couldn’t control the tears. Her nose ran, and Kim went to the bathroom, returning to the sofa with a roll of toilet paper.

  “I didn’t see any Kleenex.”

  Shannon sniffled, barely able to see.

  “He was so angry. And mean. I tried to tell him what happened. He didn’t want to listen. I asked him and…”

  The snarl on Jonah’s face when he called her names anchored itself in her mind. A man doesn’t come back from that. When he looks at you like that, there’s no forgiveness.

  “Tell me what happened.”

  Shannon explained about Amber and Cori and what Lindsay told her the next day.

  “He knew you were drugged. He never should have taken advantage of you. That’s not right, Shannon. It’s not right.”

  Kim embraced her friend, squeezing tighter with each of Shannon’s sobs until she pulled away.

  “It’s not, but it’s done. Then, I found out I was pregnant. I panicked. I couldn’t tell him. I just couldn’t.”

  “What were you going to do?”

  “I don’t know. I know the longer I said nothing, the worse it would be. I knew I couldn’t wait until the baby was born and Jonah was attached, and then do a paternity test behind his back. I was a fool.”

  “You were scared, and you’re dealing with being violated like that. I mean what kind of guy does that—a killer I guess. He shot your ex-husband. At least, he’ll go to jail for that.”

  “No, he won’t. The police say it was self-defense. Kid attacked him. He’s not going to jail.”

  “Too bad. That’s where he deserves to be.”

  Kim took Shannon’s hands in hers. “Do you still have your drug counselor or someone else you can talk to?”

  “There’s my family therapist for me and Jeff and Olivia.”

  “Make an appointment. Go talk to him or her or whatever.”

  “Her. What’s she going to say to me? I already know it’s terrible. I don’t need to talk about it. I need get over it.”

  “You need to wait until Jonah calms down and tell him the truth about what happened.”

  “No. He’ll only think I’m making excuses.”

  “You can’t act like this didn’t happen.”

  Shannon’s voice cracked. “Sure I can. I’ve done it before. I’ve got lots of practice moving on like shit never happened.”

  “That’s the problem, Shannon. That shit has to go somewhere or it builds up and explodes all over your life.”

  She closed her eyes, not able to look at Kim as she spoke. “I don’t know what else to do.”

  “Talk to someone, please. Call a rape hotline. Go to the police even.”

  “And say what? That all these people tell me I slept with this guy? That’s how I ended up telling Jonah. We saw Aaron at the police station, and he heard us talking. He made a snide remark, and then Jonah…I just had to tell him. God, if Aaron is the father?”

  Shannon’s throat locked up, and this time, no tears fell.

  “Don’t think about that right now. Just breathe. Breathe. Then promise me you’ll talk to a counselor or someone professional. Promise me.”

  “Okay. I promise.”

  Shannon didn’t think she had the strength to follow through, but she promised anyway because she couldn’t bear to disappoint her friend.

  “The ice cream is melting. We have to eat it. You were so nice to bring it over.”

  “Bringing ice cream is the least I could do. So, Jonah left?”

  “I guess. I don’t know. He parks in the garage. He could be there. He could not be there.”

  At a loss, Shannon fell against Kim’s shoulder and let herself cry until she had nothing left.

  Chapter Forty-One

  The apartment above Jonah’s garage was nicer than most places Shannon had ever lived. If he thought he was punishing her, he was mistaken.

  She just had to find a place to stay until the duplex was put back together. To get more definitive about when that would be, she called her landlord during her work break and received some good news.

  “I can get you a hotel voucher from the insurance company. They’ll even cover your meals. I didn’t do it because you had a place to stay right away.”

  “Great. Where I am now, well…I need to have my own space.”

  “I hear you. It’s hard to stay with friends. It’s not your house, and things can get awkward. Let me call the insurance company tomorrow and get back to you. It might not be until Wednesday or Thursday before I get you into a hotel.”

  “That’s fine.” Shannon didn’t think Jonah would throw her out over a day or two—no matter how much he hated her.

  Pulling up to the garage after work that night, she saw the lights on in the main house and tried not to think about what he was doing.

  They hadn’t spoken since their fight on Saturday. Shannon didn’t expect that to change. The brisk knock on the door a few minutes after she got home made her start so badly, she spilled her herbal tea. It could only be Jonah, so rather than getting up, she screamed for him to come in.

  “This is a surprise.” She greeted him in an even voice without turning around.

  “I’ll be quick. Two things. First, I’ve thought about it,
and since your place will be ready in a few weeks, you don’t have to move again. You can stay here.”

  “No need. My landlord said he can get me a voucher for a hotel. It even includes meals. So you were right, I did figure it out.”

  “Can you at least turn around, so I’m not talking to the back of your head?”

  Shannon turned and lifted herself up to a kneeling position. Her widening stomach pressed against the back of the couch.

  “What else?”

  He pressed his lips into a thin line.

  “I made an appointment next Wednesday for the paternity test.”

  “I have a place that I’d already looked into.”

  “Really? As you know, that’s news to me, so we won’t need whatever you found. I’ve made the arrangements.”

  “I’ll have to see when I can get off from work.”

  “It’s a Wednesday. I doubt my sister will give you any trouble.”

  “It’s still a job. I have work hours.”

  “Fine. The appointment I made is for ten. Check your busy schedule and get back to me if we need to change it. If I don’t hear from you, I’ll assume that time works and see you there.”

  Shannon bit her lip to keep from bursting into tears.

  “I’ll be out by the end of the week. If that’s it, you can get the hell out.”

  “How in this scenario are you pissed off at me? I didn’t sleep with someone else.”

  “I said you can get the hell out.” Shannon scrambled off the couch to stand, yelling.

  “Kicking me out of my own home?”

  “For now, this place is mine.” Shannon swept her hand in a swoosh to signify her domain.

  “Everything on this property is still mine.”

  She took a challenging step toward him, closing the space between them quickly in the small apartment.

  “Not everything.”

  “Clearly.”

  “You know what, Jonah? Go fuck yourself.”

  Shannon couldn’t pinpoint when his anger switched to desire, but Jonah had her in his arms in a flash, feasting on her mouth like starving man.

  Her heart pounded in her ears, and she reveled in the taste of him. That their last kiss should be angry and hateful depressed her. Once she was out of his reach, she wouldn’t look back.

  * * *

  Shannon tasted sweeter than candy. How had he missed her this much in only a couple of days? The feel of her jolted his cock awake—the cloud of her curly hair around his fingers and the curve of her ass in his hand. The familiarity of the sensations sent him right back to every time he’d held her before and lifted off her shirt and peeled off her pants—along with her panties.

  Every time her body pressed up against his, just like it had with Aaron.

  Jonah broke away from her, pulling back with determination.

  “That’s not going to happen again.”

  Shannon wiped her mouth with the back of her hand like she’d accidentally eaten something foul. “One thing we can agree on.”

  “I don’t get what I’ve done to you.”

  Rage bloomed in her face. “Nothing. Go back to the house.”

  He fought the desire to grab her again and kiss her until she told him. All day, Jonah thought through the days and weeks immediately after Shannon got back from Lindsay’s.

  Most of the month leading up to her birthday, he told himself that her friend’s death accounted for Shannon’s desolate mood and that women don’t respond well to getting older. He figured to the two things together had her reflecting on her life.

  Now, he wasn’t sure if she hadn’t been overcome with guilt or maybe shame. The two emotions looked the same and drove the same furtive behavior. Vivienne thought he should talk to Shannon. Maybe there was another story.

  Cynicism sprang up and grabbed him by throat.

  This is what Shannon did. She looked up at you with those doe eyes the color of the ocean, and you drown in your own sympathy.

  “Next Wednesday. Ten o’clock,” he choked out, turned heel, and rushed out the door.

  Once he got the test results, he could deal with Shannon. Or not. If the baby wasn’t his, then he could walk away and not look back.

  Let Aaron deal with it. A sharp pain twisted in his solar plexus. The baby he didn’t know and might never meet could have that cretin as a father—brawling, gun-toting, one-night-stand Aaron. Shannon played the innocent, but this child was one.

  No wonder Shannon had closed her eyes and crossed her fingers. She stood at a crossroads where her life would head in nearly opposite directions. No wonder he was such an attractive target for her. She would have had him raising another man’s baby as his own—to save herself as well as the baby.

  He thought of how wounded she looked earlier and slumped in his chair.

  For a minute, Jonah let himself think about Shannon’s life if he wasn’t the father. From the looks of Aaron the other day, he would dog Shannon, and unlike with Kid, she wouldn’t be able to leave him behind. He would demand a presence in the child’s life, and Shannon would be tied to him forever.

  In raising the child, would they develop feelings for each other? Would Shannon have the family that she wanted—but with someone else?

  The pain in his gut churned harder. What a fool he’d be to hold on to love he still had for her. Regardless of the outcome, she was the same woman who lied to him.

  Then, the question of Aaron remained. Until he knew if the child was his, he’d be in both Jonah’s and Shannon’s life. Jonah couldn’t have that guy causing problems.

  He picked up the phone and dialed their family’s head of security. The more he knew about this other man, the better he could protect himself. As far as who’d protect Shannon and the baby, Jonah would have to let that go.

  Chapter Forty-Two

  Assuming Jonah talked to his sister, Shannon texted Vivienne on Monday to ask whether she should bother showing up on Wednesday.

  Shannon turned her phone over and over in her hand, fearing the response, and it rang.

  “Hello, Vivienne.”

  “Hi, Shannon. What are you doing tonight? Are you working?”

  “Yes. The dinner shift.”

  “What about tomorrow? I want to talk with you, and I’d rather not wait until Wednesday.”

  Shannon swallowed. “If you’re going to fire me, just do it now.”

  “I’m not firing you. I need to talk to you. Jonah told me some of what happened, but honestly, he was pretty drunk. What he did tell me…it bothers me. What happened to you bothers me.”

  “I’m working late shift again tomorrow, but I can come by your office in the morning.”

  “Great. Ten?”

  “Okay.”

  “Perfect. Take care of yourself, Shannon.”

  Stunned, she hung up the phone.

  The next morning, she sat in Vivienne’s office. Fear tightened her shoulders, cramping her neck.

  “I want to hear what happened directly from you. My brother…I think he got so mad that he isn’t thinking straight.”

  Hope burgeoned within Shannon. Maybe they could work this out. Maybe she could explain things, and Jonah would hear the truth. Shannon explained about going back to Mineola for the funeral and about her relationship with Lindsay.

  “I went to her house afterward. Friends had brought over food, and Lindsay wanted to have a celebration. She said that’s what Laura asked for. I was drinking soda—I swear—and at some point, the girl Amber handed me another soda in a plastic cup, and I drank it. A few minutes later, I started to feel funny. I was talking to people and felt chatty, but dizzy—then just dizzy and out of it. That’s when I ran into Kid and he grabbed me, but this guy Aaron pulled him off of me. Kid and his cousin left. Then, I could hardly stand up. I remember Lindsay yelling at Amber, and Aaron helped me inside.”

  “So you didn’t take drugs?”

  “No! I found out the next day that Amber put a roofie in my drink because she thought I was being
snotty and uptight not boozing with everyone. To her, it was a joke.” Her voice cracked, and Shannon took a deep breath. “Obviously, it wasn’t a joke. Not to me.”

  “Not to anyone with any sense. I can’t believe a woman would do that to another woman.”

  “When you’re used to doing drugs all the time, these things look different. Being high is no big deal.”

  “But they knew you were trying to stay clean and sober.”

  “Amber? Maybe. I don’t know. She knew I didn’t want to drink.”

  “What about this guy?”

  “Aaron? He helped me inside, and I thought he was being a nice guy, you know. He got me away from Kid. We’re in the hallway, and I’m really disoriented,” Shannon explained with her eyes closed, trying to picture exactly what happened. “Aaron is tall and blond and at the time…I know this is strange and stupid, but it all got crossed in my head. When I met Jonah for the first time, outside of being his waitress, he got me away from Kid too. I was just so mixed up. I kissed him. I did, but I definitely remember telling myself, ‘This isn’t Jonah.’”

  The terror of what happened hit Shannon all at once. She put herself back in that hallway and began to cry.

  Vivienne handed her a bundle of tissues. “We don’t have to talk about this if you don’t want to.”

  “No, I need to tell you what happened. I pushed him away. I remember that, but then everything else from that night is gone. I woke up the next day, and my arms and knees were bruised, and I felt so sick from the drug. Lindsay told me that I made out with Aaron, but no one could tell me what happened after the hallway. I couldn’t ask Aaron. But to be real, if something happened, I didn’t want to know. I wanted to forget the whole thing, and then—”

  “You found out you were pregnant.”

  Tears fell faster onto Shannon’s cheeks. “I wanted to keep pretending. I didn’t know what to tell Jonah. It was stupid. You’d think by now I’d know that anytime I make decision because I’m scared, it blows up on me. Jonah is never going to forgive me, and even if the baby is his, it’s never going to be same now.”